Having spent a month on the Atkins diet, I’m getting quite bored with my usual bowl of meat for dinner. What I miss most at the moment is Mexican food (or at least what passes for it in the US), which is a general no-no because of all the starch involved.
I figure I can whip up some fajitas IF I knew what the spices are, and left out all the cornstarch that is put in a commercially available seasoning packet. My usually discerning tongue can’t figure them out on it’s own, and my cookbooks are so old that fajitas aren’t listed. Anyone have a good recipe I could try to make my own?
Taco seasoning is a little easier, because I know that’s primarily cumin, red pepper, garlic and onion powder, but if you have a recipe for that as well, I’d be grateful.
Homemade fajitas are usually made with a marinade, not just powdered seasonings. The seasonings would be similar to tacos, with the addition of oregano, cilantro and some kind of citrus, probably lime. I’ve also seen some that use tequila in the marinade, but you might need to skip that.
Here’s one that looks good and sounds tasty. Plus it uses a smoky chipotle based marinade (if you can’t find a chipotle salsa…make your own with canned chipotle and the adobo sauce it comes in, fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, and cilantro- maybe a little salt, sugar and some lime juice for a balanced acidity…you can make enough for the marinade and to serve with the finished fajitas and to accompany some tortilla chips.)
Mexicali Flank Steak Fajitas
Most of the calories in fajitas come from the toppings that we pile on, including cheese, sour cream, and guacamole. If you replace these condiments with a high-flavor salsa, you won’t miss any of the flavor.
1 pound lean flank steak
2 teaspoons ground chile, such as ancho or New Mexican Chimayo
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup chipotle-based salsa, divided
Vegetable cooking spray
6 to 8 green or Mexican bulb onions
4 to 6 flour tortillas
Trim the visible fat from the steak. Combine the chile, cumin, coriander, and garlic powder, then rub the steak with the spice mixture.
Place the steak and ½ cup of the salsa in a zip-lock bag.
Marinate the steak in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight, turning the bag occasionally.
Heat a barbecue until medium-hot. Remove the steak and discard the marinade. Coat the grill rack and onions with the cooking spray. Place the steak and onions on the grill and cook for 8 minutes. Turn the steak and the onions, and continue to grill for an additional 5 minutes or until desired degree of doneness.
Cut the meat diagonally across the grain into thin slices. Place a few slices of meat into a flour tortilla, add a couple of grilled onions, top with additional salsa and serve.
Here’s what I use, which are coincidentally the same spices I use in my chili:
Taco Mix
Ancho chili powder
Ground cumin
Ground chipotle
Sweet Spanish paprika
Dried Mexican oregano (not Greek or Italian)
Small pinch of cinnamon
Salt
Pepper
Chopped onion
Chopped bell pepper (optional)
Minced garlic
Cut up chicken breast meat or other meat of choice
Olive oil
Cut the chicken into small pieces and sprinkle liberally with the spices. I generally will use about 3-4 tablespoons of the chili powder and perhaps 2-3 of cumin for six breasts. Likewise for the oregano. About a tablespoon or less of the paprika. Careful with the chipotle unless you like it very hot; perhaps a couple of teaspoons. Cinnamon is a powerful spice; use very little. You can add the salt now or later. Toss the meat in the spices until well-coated.
Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. When hot, dump the meat in and any spices remaining on the cutting board. Cook at medium-high heat until the meat is cooked and the spices have browned and given up their oils. Reduce heat to medium, add the onion, bell pepper and garlic and saute until done. Add additional oil, if needed.
Spoon into grilled tortillas and serve with condiments of choice: sour cream, guacamole, chopped cilantro, tomato, etc.